the French-Algerian War in the bande dessinée

289 Pages·2016·6.48 MB·English

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
2010
Popularizing historical taboos, transmitting
postmemory: the French-Algerian War in the
bande dessinée
Jennifer Therese Howell
University of Iowa
Copyright 2010 Jennifer Therese Howell
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/683
Recommended Citation
Howell, Jennifer Therese. "Popularizing historical taboos, transmitting postmemory: the French-Algerian War in the bande dessinée."
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2010.
https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/683.
Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of theFrench and Francophone Language and Literature Commons
POPULARIZING HISTORICAL TABOOS, TRANSMITTING POSTMEMORY: THE
FRENCH-ALGERIAN WAR IN THE BANDE DESSINÉE
by
Jennifer Therese Howell
An Abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in French and Francophone World Studies
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
1
July 2010
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Anny Dominique Curtius
1
ABSTRACT
In addition to proposing a survey and subsequent analysis of the French-Algerian
War in French-language comics, also known as bandes dessinées, published in Algeria,
France, and Belgium since the 1960s, my dissertation investigates the ways in which this
medium re-appropriates textual and iconographic source materials. I argue that the
integration or citation of various sources by artists functions to confer a measure of
historical accuracy on their representation of history, to constitute a collective memory as
well as personal postmemories of the war, and to re-contextualize problematic images so
that they and the hegemonic discourses they reinforce may be deconstructed. Moreover,
the bande dessinée mimics secondary schoolbook representations of the war in both
Algeria and France in its recycling of problematic images such as Orientalist painting,
colonial postcards, and iconic images of war. The recycling of textbook images has the
double advantage of ensuring reader familiarity with these images and of inviting critical
interpretations of them. By exploring how the bande dessinée reuses colonial images as
well as critical histories in predominantly anti-colonialist narratives, I seek to explain
how this popular medium uniquely problematizes questions of history, memory, and
postcolonial identity related to French Algeria and its decolonization. It is my contention
that, because historical bandes dessinées frequently include or reference authentic textual
and iconographic source material documenting the repercussions of the French-Algerian
1

war on various communities, they represent a valuable resource to middle and high
school teachers looking to enrich the state-mandated history curriculum. By using the
bande dessinée in this capacity, educators exploit this medium as both a historical
document (whose objective is to transmit knowledge of the past) and a document of
history (which allows scholars to retrace the evolution of public opinion).
2
Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date

2
POPULARIZING HISTORICAL TABOOS, TRANSMITTING POSTMEMORY: THE
FRENCH-ALGERIAN WAR IN THE BANDE DESSINÉE
by
Jennifer Therese Howell
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in French and Francophone World Studies
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
1
July 2010
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Anny Dominique Curtius
Copyright by
JENNIFER THERESE HOWELL
2010
All Rights Reserved
2
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
PH.D. THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Jennifer Therese Howell
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in French and Francophone World Studies at the July 2010 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ______________________________________
Anny Dominique Curtius, Thesis Supervisor
______________________________________
Eric Gidal
______________________________________
Michel Laronde
______________________________________
Rosemarie Scullion
______________________________________
Jennifer Sessions
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am forever grateful to my dissertation advisor, Professor Anny Dominique
Curtius, whose encouragement and guidance during my doctoral studies enabled me to
mature professionally. I would also like to acknowledge my readers, Professors Eric
Gidal and Michel Laronde, whose comments and constructive criticism helped me grow
as both a scholar and writer. I would like to thank Professors Rosemarie Scullion and
Jennifer Sessions for graciously accepting to serve as members on my dissertation
committee. A special thanks to everyone on my committee for their valuable insight and
supervision. I would like to personally thank Rosemary Stenzel for her administrative
support. In addition, I am highly indebted to Catherine Ternaux at the CIBDI for helping
me research my project, to Philippe Ostermann, Farid Boudjellal, and Jacques Ferrandez
for taking the time to answer my questions about their work and the bande dessinée
industry, and to Paul Benhamou for sharing his personal experiences with me. Chapter 5
would never have been possible without the help of Étienne Augris, his students at Lycée
Claude Gellée, Stéphanie Carrier at the Lycée français in Tunis, and their amazing
history blog. I also wish to thank Michel Deligne, Manu Larcenet, Mediatoon and the
editors at Casterman, MC Productions, Autrement Jeunesse, Futuropolis, and Œil
Électrique for allowing me to reprint bande dessinée images as part of my dissertation.
Finally, I am grateful for my parents and their continuous support throughout my post-
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graduate education.
ii
ABSTRACT
In addition to proposing a survey and subsequent analysis of the French-Algerian
War in French-language comics, also known as bandes dessinées, published in Algeria,
France, and Belgium since the 1960s, my dissertation investigates the ways in which this
medium re-appropriates textual and iconographic source materials. I argue that the
integration or citation of various sources by artists functions to confer a measure of
historical accuracy on their representation of history, to constitute a collective memory as
well as personal postmemories of the war, and to re-contextualize problematic images so
that they and the hegemonic discourses they reinforce may be deconstructed. Moreover,
the bande dessinée mimics secondary schoolbook representations of the war in both
Algeria and France in its recycling of problematic images such as Orientalist painting,
colonial postcards, and iconic images of war. The recycling of textbook images has the
double advantage of ensuring reader familiarity with these images and of inviting critical
interpretations of them. By exploring how the bande dessinée reuses colonial images as
well as critical histories in predominantly anti-colonialist narratives, I seek to explain
how this popular medium uniquely problematizes questions of history, memory, and
postcolonial identity related to French Algeria and its decolonization. It is my contention
that, because historical bandes dessinées frequently include or reference authentic textual
and iconographic source material documenting the repercussions of the French-Algerian
3

war on various communities, they represent a valuable resource to middle and high
school teachers looking to enrich the state-mandated history curriculum. By using the
bande dessinée in this capacity, educators exploit this medium as both a historical
document (whose objective is to transmit knowledge of the past) and a document of
history (which allows scholars to retrace the evolution of public opinion).
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................v
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

History, Memory, Postmemory ........................................................................2
The Bande Dessinée as Imagetext ....................................................................6
Chapter Organization ......................................................................................13
CHAPTER 1: THE FRENCH-ALGERIAN WAR IN THE BANDE DESSINÉE ...........18

The Algerian Bande Dessinée ........................................................................19
SNED/ENAL Publications ......................................................................31
Slim and Sid Ali Melouah .......................................................................38
Franco-Belgian Publications ...........................................................................41
Shorts and Single Albums .......................................................................46
Bande Dessinée Series .............................................................................58
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL ACCURACY AND LITERARY APPEAL .......................74

Claiming Historical and Biographical Authenticity .......................................74
The Bande Dessinée as a “Mosaic of Quotations” .......................................102
CHAPTER 3: RECYCLING THE ORIENTALIST AESTHETIC .................................127

(Re)Imagining the Self and the Other ...........................................................128
(Re)Mapping Colonial Landscapes ..............................................................149
CHAPTER 4: PHOTOGRAPHY, NARRATIVE, AND MEMORY ..............................178

Press Photography and Collective Memory .................................................179
Picturing the Family: The Bande Dessinée and Postmemory ......................194
CHAPTER 5: THE BANDE DESSINÉE: HISTORICAL DOCUMENT OR
DOCUMENT OF HISTORY? .....................................................................228

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The Bande Dessinée and the History Classroom ..........................................229
Decolonizing Colonial History: “Une histoire commune?” .........................243
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................250
APPENDIX: LA GUERRE D’ALGÉRIE EN BD: ENTRETIEN AVEC J.
HOWELL .....................................................................................................258
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................265
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